Virginia GOP's Weather TV Ad Is Misleading

February 16, 2010

The Virginia Republican Party has put up a TV ad implying that the heavy snowstorms that recently hit the East Coast are proof that global warming is false and should not be taken seriously.

So, if and when a heat wave slams Virginia next summer, will the Virginia Republican Party then put up an ad saying oops, never mind our earlier ad?

The Virginia Republican Party invites voters to call lawmakers who take global warming seriously to help them shovel snow from their driveways.

In a similar spirit of neighborliness, perhaps the Virginia Republican Party should invite voters to truck their snow over to Vancouver, which has experienced unusually warm weather that is hampering many events at the Winter Olympics.

"The party’s recent television ad plays on ignorance. Weather is not the same as climate, any more than a short upward blip in the stock market would be a signal that lasting economic growth has returned," David Jenkins, Republicans for Environmental Protection (REP) vice president for government and political affairs, said.

"The East’s snowy weather no more disproves global warming than Vancouver’s balmy weather validates it. Global warming is … global," Jenkins said. "In fact, it is a warmer-than-usual Pacific Ocean that is kick-starting the stormy weather plaguing Virginia."

"Last week’s snowy weather does not change the underlying global warming trend. NASA recently released data showing that the decade of the 2000s was the warmest on record," Jenkins said.

"The Virginia GOP’s failure to take this information seriously, and act responsibly on it, violates the longstanding conservative principles of prudent forethought, responsible stewardship, and protecting the interests of future generations," Jim DiPeso, REP vice president for policy and communications, said.

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